Nick Taylor of British Columbia emerged victorious at the Canadian Open, becoming the first Canadian to win the national open in 69 years. Taylor’s triumph came via a thrilling showdown with Tommy Fleetwood, culminating in a remarkable 72-foot putt for eagle on the fourth playoff hole.
Unsurprisingly, the Canadian crowd, Taylor’s caddie, and even former Masters champion Mike Weir erupted with joy and excitement as Taylor sunk his historic putt resulting in a raucous scene on the final green.
“With the rain coming down the slope, obviously, we knew it was going to be slow. It’s so easy to leave that putt 10 feet short from how far I was,” Taylor said. “The speed is all I was thinking about. Tommy probably had about 12 feet and I expected him to make it almost like the first playoff hole. So I was trying to get as close as I could to essentially know that he had to make or miss to keep going. So for that to drop was a huge surprise, but an amazing one.”
On the opening playoff hole, Fleetwood managed to delay the celebrations momentarily by draining a long-distance putt. However, he faltered on the second playoff hole, launching his second shot into the grandstands and settling for a drop. This mistake opened the door for Taylor, but both players eventually settled for a two-putt, leading to an extension of the playoff.
The third playoff hole took place on the 159-yard par-three hole, where both players once again exchanged two-putts. The back and forth duel brought them back to the 18th tee for a fourth and final playoff hole. It was here that Taylor etched his name into history. After missing the fairway with his tee shot, Fleetwood landed in the left rough, setting the stage for an incredible finale. Taylor seized the opportunity and buried a now viral 72-foot eagle putt, the longest of his PGA career and the longest of the entire tournament. This moment will undoubtedly go down as one of the most iconic in Canadian sports history.
While the victory belonged to Taylor, it represented much more than an individual achievement. It was a win for all of Canada. Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin, overcome with excitement, sprinted onto the green with a bottle of champagne in an attempt to get the party started, only to be tackled by a security guard who mistook him for an intruder. Hadwin, despite the unexpected encounter, expressed his elation and the significance of the moment for Canadian golf.
The Oakdale Golf and Country Club, the venue for this year’s event, proved to be a formidable venue, allowing the drama to build over the weekend as some players made charges while others faltered down the stretch.
When all was said and done, it was a tightly packed leaderboard on Sunday. The top 5 featured all five golfers at either -17 or -16 under par. Finishing just behind Taylor and Fleetwood were English golfers Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton, and Taiwanese pro Pan Cheng-tsung.
The win was the 3rd career victory on the PGA Tour for Taylor, who pocketed $1.62M from the overall $9M tournament purse.
Photo: Oakdale Golf & CC.